Fitch ratings property prediction for Spain

January 10, 2012 – 3:57 pm

Property bargains in Spain and Tenerife according to Fitch

Spain’s property market will not grow in 2012, the Fitch ratings agency has predicted. The country’s GDP growth is forecast at zero per cent, with Fitch adding that any growth will be limited to the long term, but agents are confident that the country’s continuing debt crisis remains good news for investors.

With property prices declining by 8.9 per cent in the third quarter of last year, according to the recent Scotiabank report, houses in Spain are now over a quarter cheaper than in 2007. This represents a market full of bargains for foreign buyers, boosted by the government’s decision at the beginning of the year to reinstate 2011′s reduction in VAT.

While Spanish officials have since announced plans to raise income taxes to encourage economic growth, at the moment VAT remains 50 per cent cheaper for new homes, with a stamp duty of 1.2 per cent.

Sergio Bolivar comments: “This means that a person who buys a new property worth €200,000 will save €5,600 compared to buying a second hand one. Even with the European climate the way it is, now is a great time for investors to pick up affordable Spanish property.” Tenerife is clearly an area awash with bargains now

By Angela | Posted in Economy, General, Health, Holiday, Inspirational, Miscellaneous Articles, Property, Tenerife, Things to Do, Weather | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Record number of repossessions in Spain this year?

October 21, 2011 – 2:51 pm

Repossession bargains in Spanish and Tenerife property

 A record number of homes in Spain could be repossessed this year, according to estimates by the ADICAE banking and insurance consumer group, presenting prospective buyers with an even greater selection of distressed housing stock to choose from, once the banks start to release these properties back onto the market.

The group projects that around 16,500 homes in Spain were repossessed in the second quarter of 2011, squashing some claims that the market is now on the road to recovery.

With Spanish home prices having declined by up to 70% since 2007, caused primarily by a severe oversupply of homes, property buyers are bagging some genuine bargains, particularly in coastal resorts such as in Tenerife and the Canary Islands.

Spanish property commentator Mark Stucklin said: “If the trend continues, there will be a total of 160,000 home repossessions this year, on top of the 140,000 families that have already lost their homes since 2008.” He added: “To make matters worse, many of those families will still have to pay off mortgages for the homes they have lost.”

According to ADICAE, a further 270,000 families are behind on their mortgage payments, suggesting that the more repossessions could follow,

By Angela | Posted in Economy, General, Holiday, Inspirational, Miscellaneous Articles, Tenerife, Things to Do | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

British buyers head property sales in Spain

September 13, 2011 – 12:04 pm

Brits ahead in race for prime property in Tenerife and Spain

Bargain hunting Brits have shot to the top of the property buyers’ league in Spain after years trailing behind Scandinavians and Russians in the race to secure “the best deals for a decade”. 

There are more British buyers than Spanish nationals on some prime developments in favourite areas like Costa del Sol, Costa Blanca, Tenerife and Mallorca, as they cash in on the “buyers market” scenario of lowest prices, lowest interest rates, lowest taxes and highest loan to value deals – up to 107% of the asking price. 

Source: Property in Spain

By Angela | Posted in Economy, General, Health, Holiday, Inspirational, Property, Tenerife, Things to Do | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

British still buying in Spain and the islands

June 10, 2011 – 8:47 am
  • Tenerife and Spain are  still  favourites  with British buyers.

    The price of free-market housing in Spain has dropped on average by 15.4% (more than 20% in real terms and as much as 24% in some provinces).

  • In municipalities with more than 25,000 inhabitants there has been an average 25% decrease, while in certain coastal towns the drop has been even greater. Such is the case in Marbella (40%), Torrevieja (31%) and Ibiza (29%), for example.
  • In 2010, property purchases by foreign residents in Spain increased by 20.8% over 2009.
  • In 2010, the British accounted for 23.4% of all property purchased by foreign residents in Spain.
  • In 2010, 491,000 property sales were recorded, 6% more than in the previous year and the first increase after three years of downturns; 60% of sales were in the Mediterranean coastal regions and in Madrid.
  • The number of empty housing units stands at less than 700,000 units in 2010; 61% of these are concentrated in the Spanish coastal regions.
  • The volume of finished housing has fallen by 60% in 2010 compared to the peak year of 2007, while newly constructed approved housing has fallen by 90% in 2010 from its 2006 high.
  • At present, the construction of subsidised housing (VPO) accounts for 50% of all new housing. As a result this type of housing now accounts for 11% of all residential real estate in Spain.
  • 1/3 of Spain’s more than 25 million houses are holiday homes.

    • Certainly in Tenerife and the Canary Islands the housing market is showing signs of improvement once more and their are good quality prime property bargains to be had at present.

    By Angela | Posted in Economy, General, Health, Holiday, Inspirational, Miscellaneous Articles, Property, Tenerife, Things to Do, Weather | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

    Interest in foreign property purchase booming again says Moneycorp

    April 1, 2011 – 9:56 am

    Interest in purchasing Tenerife and Spanish property on the rise

    Interest in foreign property purchases is once agan booming amongst British buyers, with  Rightmove and foreign exchange specialists MoneyCorp both reporting a large surge in enquiries. Real estate enquiries rose by 53 percent in February  Rightmove reports, with Spain retaining its popularity as a second home destination despite its much publicised housing collapse.

    Certainly this increase in purchasing  is being seen in Tenerife and the bargains which exist at all levels, even in the prime property sector are now being snapped up by savvy purchasers

    By Angela | Posted in Economy, General, Health, Holiday, Inspirational, Miscellaneous Articles, Property, Tenerife, Things to Do, Weather | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

    A good time to buy in Tenerife?

    January 17, 2011 – 9:45 am

    Bargains abound so this could be a good time to buy prime property in Tenerife

    During Spain’s runaway housing boom of the last decade, tens of thousands of new homes were built on the coast with foreign buyers in mind. Unfortunately, foreign buyers didn’t  buy in expected numbers, which partly explain why Spain has such a glut of new homes on the coast.

    The number of purchases of holiday-homes by foreigners have reduced considerably. They are down 87pc in the first 9 months of the year compared to the same period in 2006, and -16pc Q3/Q2 . At this rate foreigners buying holiday homes will do nothing to help absorb Spain’s glut of new homes. The figures are difficult to believe, just 490 sales in 3 months over the summer. Hopefully the  figures are not accurate, but if they are who will buy all those empty holiday-homes?  Certainly not the  vast number of unemployed Spaniards.

    It is clear that vendors in areas such as Tenerife have realised that  in order to achieve a sale, the price needs to be right and so they have made the necessary ajustments to the sale cost. In fact, with the number of bargains now around in Tenerife and the Canary Islands, this is probably a good time to consider purchasing a second home or a property to rent out for income purposes. If you buy good quality prime property in a  coastal location, you could do  well.

    By Angela | Posted in Economy, General, Health, Holiday, Inspirational, Miscellaneous Articles, Property, Tenerife, Things to Do | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

    Property bargains continue in Spain and Tenerife

    December 23, 2009 – 1:34 pm
    Property bargains remain in Tenerife and Spain

    Property bargains remain in Tenerife and Spain

    Property bargains are likely to continue in Spain and Tenerife now one of the few Eurozone countries still in recession after it emerged that the Republic of Ireland has seen a return to economic growth.

    Spain and Greece are now among the few users of the euro still in a downturn, while the UK is the only G20 country still in recession.

    Those keen to invest in the Spanish real estate sector may wish to take advantage of the lower prices and many Spanish bank repossession property evident greater weakness of its economy to pick up bargains in 2010. Hard pressed developers are offering big discounts on key ready homes.

    However, those hoping for a Spanish economic turnaround to help property investments gain in value will have noted that this fall followed declines of 1.1 per cent, 1.3 per cent and 1.1 per cent in the previous three quarters.

    By Angela | Posted in Economy, General, Holiday, Inspirational, Miscellaneous Articles, Property, Tenerife, Things to Do, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

    Pensioners suffering from the global recession

    September 29, 2009 – 4:27 pm
    Pensioners in Tenerife and overseas are not smiling as much since the recession.

    Pensioners in Tenerife and overseas are not smiling as much since the recession.

    Almost half of Britons abroad who are sending money back to the UK are aged 65 and over – suggesting that those pensioners who retired to the sun have been hit hardest by the recession and are being forced back to the UK.

    Currency specialists such as Moneycorp and  HiFX has seen a 180% increase in the number of euro to sterling transactions and a 111% increase in the number of US dollar to sterling transactions in the past six months, compared to the same period last year.

    Not only are more over 65s repatriating money, but they are also sending home larger amounts. This suggests that they are selling up property and returning home. In the last six months almost a third (32%) of the transactions over £70,000 have been made by over 65s. They have  calculated that British pensioners living in Europe have potentially lost out on almost €10billion of their income in the last two years due to the falling strength of sterling. When faced with this drop in their income, it’s no surprise that some pensioners are finding themselves forced to sell up.

    Certainly this has been seen in Tenerife and the Canary Islands allowing the fortunate few with cash to obtain great property bargains.

    By Angela | Posted in Economy, General, Holiday, Inspirational, Miscellaneous Articles, Property, Tenerife, Things to Do, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (1)